Trump considers replacing Hegseth with DeSantis as Pentagon pick

 President-elect Donald Trump’s team is considering replacing embattled Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a swap that would elevate a one-time rival to a prime cabinet position.

Trump’s team is looking for alternatives to Hegseth, who is facing allegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement and alcohol abuse, according to people familiar with the matter. Discussions between Trump’s team and DeSantis have occurred within the past day, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

DeSantis, who rose to national prominence during his Republican presidential primary bid, has had a rocky relationship with the president-elect. The Florida governor and former Navy officer was welcomed back into Trump’s orbit earlier this year after offering to help fundraise for the president-elect’s campaign.

The discussions around replacing Hegseth are an acknowledgment that the Army National Guard veteran and Fox News personality faces a difficult road to confirmation, following allegations about his personal and professional conduct. Even some people inclined to support Trump’s decision to pick Hegseth have expressed concern about whether he is qualified to lead the massive Pentagon bureaucracy and steer its $850 billion budget.

Jason Miller, a Trump spokesperson, declined to address alternatives to Hegseth when asked on Fox Business Wednesday morning if the president-elect was considering swapping in DeSantis.

“I’ve probably said this to you 100 times, until we hear from President Trump, then it’s all just chatter,” Miller said.

Timothy Parlatore, Hegseth’s lawyer, did not comment on any conversations but said his client has no intention of dropping out.

“I don’t want to comment on what may be going on down in Florida because I don’t know that, but from Pete’s perspective, there’s no reason for him to drop out,” he said Wednesday.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Hegseth said smears against him were “fake,” adding “our warriors never back down, & neither will I.”

Trump and DeSantis attended a funeral on Tuesday, honoring three Palm Beach County law enforcement officials who died in a collision last month.

Representatives for Trump and DeSantis did not immediately respond to requests to comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump was considering the swap.

Nominee Changes

Replacing Hegseth would be a blow to Trump, who has already had two of his selected nominees withdraw from consideration after facing backlash from within the Republican Party. Former US House Representative Matt Gaetz, who Trump nominated to serve as attorney general, rescinded his name from consideration amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has denied.

Chad Chronister, who was tapped to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, on Tuesday said he would not serve after some conservatives criticized his actions as a Florida sheriff enforcing lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other names that have been floated to serve as Pentagon chief, include Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, former acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller and Elbridge Colby, who also served in the Pentagon during Trump’s first term.

A steady drumbeat of unfavorable reports have followed Hegseth since Trump’s announcement. First was the revelation of a 2017 sexual assault allegation, which did not result in criminal charges but yielded a financial settlement with the accuser. An attorney for Hegseth said the encounter was consensual.

The New York Times also reported on an email Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, had sent to her son while he was in the middle of an acrimonious divorce, in which she accused him of routinely mistreating women.

Penelope Hegseth has since said that she apologized to her son at the time for the email, saying it was written in anger during a difficult experience for their family.

On Wednesday, she defended him in an interview on Fox News, casting her son as a changed man, praising Trump and urging Republican senators to disregard the allegations.

“I am here to tell the truth, to tell the truth to the American people and tell the truth to the senators on the hill, especially our female senators. I really hope that you will not listen to the media and that you will listen to Pete,” Hegseth’s mother said.

The New Yorker also reported that Hegseth was forced to depart leadership posts at two organizations - Concerned Veterans for America and Vets for Freedom - amid allegations of financial and personal missteps.

The magazine noted that a whistleblower report during Hegseth’s time leading Concerned Veterans for America “describes him as being repeatedly intoxicated while acting in his official capacity-to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization’s events.”